


All's Well

by astraplain



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-20
Updated: 2015-03-20
Packaged: 2018-03-18 17:31:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3577962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astraplain/pseuds/astraplain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Burt and Carole discover there’s an explanation for everything. Based on speculation about the final episode. Not Blaine or Rachel friendly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All's Well

Precisely one year and twelve hours after Rachel wins her first Tony, Kurt Hummel disappeared.

Blaine was gone, as usual, so the only people who missed Kurt were a dozen misfit Glee kids and the barista at the Lima Bean.

Denise had a certain talent for gaining entry to locked spaces so she was the one who found the broken coffee mug and stained carpet. There was no sign of Kurt. 

It was another three days before anyone else noticed.

Burt Hummel wore a path in Kurt’s living room carpet while he made phone calls to friends and family. Carole called the area hospitals. 

Kurt’s car was in its usual parking space, the keys on the hook by the door. His wallet and phone were on the counter by the half-full coffee pot.

Blaine was still in LA working on ‘a little something’ with Cooper. He wouldn't be back until the weekend. There were empty spaces in his dresser and closet and nothing of his in the bathroom. Burt asked Carole if she knew but stopped her before she could speak. He already knew the answer. He’d known it for seven years, all the way back to that damned proposal.

Carole drove him to the school where Kurt’s Glee kids were gathered. They were in the music room, singing and dancing just like Kurt and Finn— The thought still hurt, but it was more of a dull ache and Burt ignored it. It flared sharper and Burt dropped into a chair, all of the sound in the room receding as he finally, finally fit the pieces together.

Finn’s picture was on the wall, and Burt walked up to it, shaken but determined. He looked at the young man who was his son for such a short time and touched the edge of the frame, gathering strength.

"Watch over your kids," Burt said, his voice nearly breaking as he finished, "I’ll watch over mine."

"Burt?" Carole asked, her eyes wet. She turned back to the Glee kids who were waiting, watching, and assured them, "Kurt will be back. Keep practicing."

"Wait!" Denise chased after them and pressed a wooden apple into Burt’s hands. "I don’t know why, but this is important to Kurt. He—" She broke off and there was something fiercely protective in her eyes that reminded Burt of his son at that age. "When you find him, give that to him."

"I will," Burt promised. He felt as if he was waking from a long sleep. He barely waited until he was in the car before taking Kurt’s phone from his pocket and keying in a roughly apple-shaped pattern. He wasn't really surprised when the phone unlocked.

Carole watched as Burt scrolled through Kurt’s contact list, filling in the gaps when there was a name Burt didn't recognize. When they were done, there was only one unidentified name remaining: Adam Crawford.

"Hello?" The accented voice made Burt nervous and he babbled for a moment before Carole took the phone and introduced herself. She told the man that Kurt was missing and they were trying to find him.

"You’re just now noticing?" Adam asked, his voice taking on a definite chill. "He’s been missing for years."

"What?" Burt snapped. He was in no mood to play games, but apparently neither was Adam Crawford.

"You got the life you wanted for him. Too bad he had to stop being Kurt to make it happen." Adam’s voice turned even colder as he asked, "How is Blaine these days? And Rachel?"

"I don’t have time for this," Burt snarled. "Do you know where Kurt is or not?"

"Not," Adam snapped before forcing a honeyed tone, "Do call when you've found him, won’t you?"

"What the hell was that about?" Burt asked Carole as soon as Adam ended the call.

"I think we’d better find out." Carole took Kurt's phone from Burt’s hand. She spent the entire drive to Kurt’s place searching his email. She knew it was an invasion of his privacy, but she grew more convinced she’d found some answers as she dug deeper into his past messages.

"Sit," she told Burt once they were inside Kurt’s apartment. It was uncomfortably quiet and Carole busied herself making coffee before taking a seat at Burt’s side. "When he was in high school, all Kurt talked about was getting out of Lima."

"Sure," Burt nodded, clearly not understanding where this conversation was headed.

"When you sent him off to New York, you were sure he’d never come back." Carole put her hand on Burt’s arm and looked at him, willing him to come to the same realization that she had. She was hardly an innocent bystander in this but she’d never been more than a step-parent. Burt, on the other hand… she could see him finally putting the pieces together. This was going to hurt.

"I never… Carole, I didn't… wouldn't… " he gripped her hand. "Did I do this?"

"Yes," she said, her voice breaking. "We all did."

Burt lurched away from her, staggering across the room as he fought against the idea that his actions had led to Kurt’s disappearance. Not just his physical disappearance a few days ago, but the gradual erosion of everything that had once been Kurt.

His unique, brilliant Kurt reduced to… this. Burt could feel the weight of Lima closing in on him. Suffocating him.

"Kurt…" he cried before grasping Kurt’s phone. He stabbed at Adam Crawford’s name and gripped the chair one-handed while he willed the man to answer. He was surprised when Adam did.

"Find him?" Adam demanded.

"No," Burt admitted before rushing to add, "but I know why he’s gone."

"Do you?"

"It was me. Well, all of us. We did this."

"Yes, you did," Adam replied coldly before softening the smallest bit. "Give me your number. I’ll see what I can do to help."

"Thank you," Burt gasped, tears closing his throat. He ended the call and fell into Carole’s arms.

All they could do now was wait.  
+++++

"A trophy, bric-a-brac, anything that Blaine was overly attached to?"

"There’s an entire shelf of trophies and twice as many doodads." Burt prowled the house looking for some kind of cursed object. He had no idea what kind of nonsense this Crawford guy was talking, but if it helped them find Kurt, Burt would pry into every drawer in the place. Even if it would take a long time to forget what he’d seen in the nightstand.

"What about Kurt," Adam asked. "Anything he was particularly fond of?"

"The apple!" Carole shouted, taking it from the kitchen counter and hurrying closer to the phone. They had it on speaker so they could talk and search. Carole picked it up and took a picture of the wooden apple Kurt's student had given to them. She emailed the picture to Adam and set the phone down, taking Burt's hand while they waited for Adam's reaction.

"The bastards!" Adam cried as soon as the image loaded. There was an prolonged moment while Adam mumbled and moved around, apparently looking for something before he spoke again.

"They used me to do this to him," Adam raged. "Used his memories of our relationship to trap him." There was another moment while Adam seemed to be taking deep breaths trying to calm himself. When he spoke again he sounded much calmer but there was an underlying tension that hadn't been there before. "I need you to listen carefully while I read from this book. We’re getting Kurt back and we’re going to fix things but we only get one chance. Ready?"

"Yes," Burt and Carole said in unison. Burt reached over and took Carole’s hand.

"This is going to sound strange, but I need you to trust me." Adam hesitated a moment before continuing, "There’s a spell at work here. Not like you see in movies, but ancient and powerful. That apple is the counter sign for the spell. You need to burn the it to ashes and then you need to put the ashes in a container of water."

"Will this bring Kurt back?" Burt asked, already reaching for the lighter Kurt kept on the sideboard for burning candles.

"It will. Call me back when it’s done." Adam’s certainty gave Burt the first real surge of hope he’d had in days. When Carole handed him a metal bowl, he knew they were in agreement.

It took a long time for the apple to burn. Burt was sure the faint cries were his imagination but he carefully avoided Carole’s eyes. When it was finally done, he tipped the ashes into a partially emptied water bottle and closed the cap.

"It’s working," Adam greeted them, his voice warmer than they’d ever heard it. "Now scatter the ashes somewhere that’s been both good and bad for Kurt. Somewhere that’s had a major impact on his life.

"The music room." Burt carried the water bottle and Carole drove. They kept Adam on the line this time and told him about Glee. He knew some of it already, making Burt wonder just what Kurt’s relationship had been with this man.

"Did you find him?" Denise asked as soon as they entered the room. She was the only student there, and seemed to have been waiting for them.

"We’re getting closer," Carole assured her while Burt took the bottle and started sprinkling water and ashes around the room. Denise and Carole stood off to the side and watched without speaking.

"Done," Burt announced to the room and Adam, who was still on speaker.

"One last thing," Adam said, sounding amused. "Do you know the song, ‘Baby Got Back’?"

"I do!" Denise said, grinning.

"Can you teach it to Burt?" Adam asked. "He needs to sing and dance his way through the entire song."

"Can we sing it together?" Denise asked. Burt didn't know the song but her delight was making him uncomfortable.

"The more the merrier," Adam insisted. "Give me a minute to find the music."

"No need," Denise said as she clapped her hands and the rest of the glee club bounced into the room, ready to sing.

"Whenever you’re ready," Adam encouraged, laughing as the ever-present band that Kurt had told him about arrived and started playing.

"Booty, booty, booty," Burt wiggled his butt feeling completely ridiculous. Around him, Carole and a dozen high schoolers did their own interpretation of the song.

"Booty, booty, booty," a familiar voice joined the chorus, working his hips in ways that Burt normally wouldn't want to see. This time he barely even noticed.

"Kurt!"

Everyone in the room threw themselves at the man, but Burt got there first and he held on the longest. When he let go, his eyes were too blurry with tears to see.

"I’m back," Kurt said, his voice as clogged with tears as Burt’s.

"You are. You are." Burt stepped back but kept one hand on Kurt’s arm, unwilling to risk his disappearing again. "I don’t even care how or why that worked as long as it doesn't happen again."

"It won’t" Kurt said, tilting his head to study Burt and then Carole, and finally, Denise. The others had already retreated, but Denise stayed.

"Thank you," Kurt said as he embraced her tightly. "For everything." He’d always known she was more than she appeared to be. After all, she was the one who’d found the apple that Rachel and Blaine had hidden.

"Don’t come visit," she told him. "I’ll see you in New York."

"You will," Kurt assured her, holding on a moment longer before letting her go. He knew he’d see her again but had no idea when. He recognized a kindred spirit; one that was too big for Lima, Ohio.

She walked out and didn't look back.

"Kurt?" Adam called, having waited long enough to talk to the man he’d loved for so long.

"Adam? Is that really you?"

"It is, love. I've been waiting."

"A long time," Kurt said sadly, aware that his father and Carole were still in the dark about what had happened.

"Not much longer. I’m on my way."

"Here?" Kurt asked, "Lima?"

"The very same," Adam assured him. "Should be there just after you finish explaining things to your parents."

"Convenient," Kurt laughed. "Call me when you arrive." Kurt took a deep breath before adding, "Adam? Thank you."

"See you soon, love."

The call ended and Kurt picked up the phone, holding it to his chest for a moment before straightening his back and turning to face Carole and Burt.

"Can we go back to my place? This will take a while."

In fact the explanations hadn't taken that long at all, as long as Burt and Carole were willing to accept that Blaine and Rachel had worked together to cast a spell that ensured their successes by draining Kurt’s. They’d cast it long before Kurt and Blaine had married and it had worked on everyone around them drawing them in until the web around Kurt was complete. The wedding ring had been the final seal for the spell.

"If Denise hadn't figured it out and realized the apple was the counter sign, I would have been trapped in limbo forever, with them feeding on me until there was nothing left."

"Rachel’s Tony win last year," Carole said, "Something that big had to require a lot of power. That’s why you disappeared."

"The spell was meant for smaller wins, and only for one person, not two. It’s been draining me for a long time." Kurt’s expression darkened and he looked away. "NYADA. Vogue. One Three Hill. The only thing I didn't lose was Adam. We just couldn't be together while I was under the spell."

"He never gave up on you." Burt had had a number of shocks in the past few days but one of the hardest to accept was the destruction Kurt’s ‘friends’ had caused.

"Never," Kurt said fervently. He’d taken his rings off as soon as he got home and had sealed them in a box until they could be returned to Blaine. In the morning he and Burt were going to a lawyer to file for divorce. Considering the news they’d heard about Rachel being involved in a vote-rigging scandal with the Tonys, Kurt didn't expect trouble from either of them.

"Good," Burt said. He made a show of checking his watch. "Let’s go meet the man who’s going to steal my son away to New York."

"Or London," Kurt said, giving Burt the biggest smile Burt had seen in years.

At the airport, Burt and Carole watched Kurt and Adam’s joyous reunion. Giddy with relief and feeling years younger, Burt pulled Carole into an embrace. He slid his hand down her back and sang softly into her ear, “booty, booty, booty.”

::end::


End file.
